Clothing sales are primarily made by displaying the garments on open racks such that customers may put on the clothing to determine proper fit and may view themselves in the clothing to determine the appropriate aesthetic appeal. However, nicer items such as suits and coats or other outerwear garments have a relatively high value, and concern for security is important. Accordingly, efforts have been made to reduce the likelihood of theft or other unauthorized removal of the garments from the store.
Security devices for garments are, of course, not new per se. A number of systems have been proposed which allow the potential customer to inspect the items in a display rack or fixture without setting off an alarm and, at the same time, preventing the removal of the item from the immediate vicinity of the display. A typical system involves the step of threading a single steel cable through all the garments on a particular rack, such that the ends of the cable are secured by a locking mechanism to the rack. This system has an obvious drawback in that garments are not capable of being put on by the customer, nor are they capable of being purchased until such cable is removed. This is not convenient, even if the desired garment is close to the end of the cable. Particularly with jackets and coats, such a removal and reinsertion process for the steel cable is both time consuming and not conductive to what are called impulse sales.
Attaching an individual cable to each garment is a known way to resolve the difficulties of collective security attachment. It is desirable that a customer be able to select a number of garments from a rack of clothing, try on the several garments, and reach the point of decision to purchase a particular item. One system which has been found to be effective for both security and display of clothing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,827. This system includes a housing in which a plurality of cables are employed, with each cable being attached at one end to the garment and at the other end to the housing. The attachment to the housing is detachable, such that any one or more individual cables can be removed or attached to the housing without disturbing the other cable attachments.
One method of attaching the cable to the garment is shown in this patent, where a cable is passed through an opening such as a buttonhole in the garment, where the cable has an enlarged plastic button at one end to prevent that end from passing through the opening. The other end of the cable is then attached to the security monitoring housing. The problem with this system, which has been effective up to a point, is that the method for attaching the cable to the goods is awkward and does not include an electronic feature so as to sound an alarm if tampered with. Thus, the cable shown in this patent is not secure against cutting, and would not send an alarm if cut and removed from the garment.
Another system of garment security and protection is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,182. In this system, an alarm mechanism is employed for signaling a closed circuit condition, such as when the cable which mechanically connects the retail item to the security device is cut. This system has been found to be effective in securing garments which have been displayed on a rack or other store fixture by attaching to the garment as in the prior patent discussed above and to the housing by plugging the other end of the cable into a jack or other electrically connecting fixture. It is intended that the present invention improve this system by a new and improved device for connecting the cable to the object for which security is sought.
In this system, the cable is also sensitive to being cut and will sound an alarm via the disclosed electronic circuitry when, for example, a pair of conductive elements are contained in the cable and complete a circuit when joined together by actions such as cutting of the cable. The system is very effective in some situations, but concern for attachment of the cable to the goods still exists. There is no provision for an alarm to be sounded when the cable is removed from the object, since that attachment is not, in fact, electronically sensitive.
None of the prior art systems provide for complete security, particularly for the attachment of the cable to the object of interest. This has been found to be a major point where the security system is likely to fail, either from inattentive or careless use by the sales personnel. It is also important that the overall security not be disturbed each time one garment is removed from the system, such as when one garment has been sold.
In co-pending, commonly owned patent application filed on Jun. 12, 1992, and having Ser. No. 07/897,707, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,220, an improved security system is disclosed in which the individual garments are attached to a security system by individual clip devices attached to the ends of security cables. The other end of the cable is attached to a security/alarm system for recognizing when a garment or other piece of merchandise is taken without authorization by the clerk responsible for the goods. In that pending application, one form of security clip device is disclosed which operates using a spring or other biasing means for keeping the jaws of the clip in a closed position. That clip device is admirably suited for its purposes, as the switch sounds an alarm as soon as the clip is disengaged from the garment.
In some instances, however, when there is a large number of cable and clip combinations on one rack of clothes, or when there is a high volume of potential customers examining the goods, and perhaps trying on the garment in some instances without removing the security clip, it is possible for the clip to inadvertently slip off of the garment. This may cause the customer to be embarrassed by the alarm which sounds, and in any event causes a disruption of the sales clerk's selling efforts. It would be of great advantage if the clip could be made more secure on the goods without causing apparent or real damage to the goods.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an electronic security clip device for garments such as jackets and coats and the like which allows for access to each individual item on the display rack or fixture without concern for inadvertent removal of the clip from the goods.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system in which individual cables are attached to garments at one end by a device which insures that the garment or other goods are secured to the security system to permit easy attachment and removal of the cable to the goods, but only upon authorized access to the device that is attached to the goods.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a security clip which provides a positive locking attachment to the goods that is resistant to efforts to disable the clip by tampering with the connection to the goods.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.